1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus and method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus that captures, stores, plays back, and edits an image, and a file management method performed by the digital image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Images captured by digital image processing apparatuses are stored in the form of files classified into folders. The file names, folder names, and a folder structure typically follow a Design rule for Camera File system (DCF).
FIG. 1 illustrates an example of folder names/file names generated by a conventional digital image processing apparatus. As illustrated in FIG. 1, folder names such as 100SSCAM, 101SSCAM, . . . , or 999SSCAM are each divided into a 3-digit serial number, and a 5-digit identifier which is freely designated according to the manufacturing company and/or a model. The 3-digit serial number can only be selected from the figures between ‘100’ and ‘999’, whereas the 5-digit identifier can be any numerals, characters, etc. The 3-digit serial number increments by one according to the sequence in which folders are created. Therefore, the 3-digit serial number of the first folder is ‘100’, and the 3-digit serial number of the next folder is ‘101’.
The file names, such as SNV30001.JPG, SNV30002.AIV, . . . , or SNV39999.TIF, are each divided into a 4-digit identifier freely designated according to the manufacturing company and/or device model, a 4-digit serial number, and an extension. The 4-digit identifier can be any numerals, characters, etc, whereas the 4-digit serial number can only be selected from the numbers between ‘0001’ and ‘9999’, and files in the same folder cannot use identical serial numbers. The 4-digit serial number increments by one according to the sequence in which files are created. Therefore, the 4-digit serial number of the first file is ‘0001’, and the 4-digit serial number of the next file is ‘0002’.
The conventional digital image processing apparatus provides an album function, which is included in a playback function, of grouping images stored in a memory card (not shown) according to subjects set by a user, so as to play back images on a group-by-group basis. As shown in FIG. 1, an album folder includes photo-video-music (PVM) files, which are index files respectively allocated to album types and each having location information and time information about the image files of each album type. When an image included in an album is played back, location information and time information about the image that are included in a PVM file corresponding to the album are used.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a PVM file recorded in an album folder illustrated in FIG. 1. The number of PVM files created is the same as the number of album types. As shown in FIG. 2, the PVM file is essentially made up of a format part 200 and an information part 210. The information part 210 represents location information 211 and photographing time information 212 on image files included in the album folder. As shown in the information part 210 of FIG. 2, the location information on a file ‘SNC10002.JPG’ corresponds to a folder 100SSCAM, and the photographing time information corresponds to 8:33:19, Jan. 21, 2006.
When an album edit is performed, such as adding or deleting an arbitrary image file in an album, the PVM file, that is, the information part 210, is changed. The PVM file may be changed while being stored in a memory card, or may be downloaded from the memory card to an internal memory (not shown) and then changed.
When an arbitrary image file is added to an album, an information part 210 for that image file is added to the PVM file. When an arbitrary image file is deleted from an album, an information part 210 for that image file is deleted from the PVM file. As described above, the image files of each album are managed by adding, correcting and deleting an information part 210 of a PVM file using a library provided according to a music-photo-video (MPV) standard.
FIGS. 3(a)-(c) illustrate an embodiment of images played back upon a general album selection. Specifically, FIG. 3(a) illustrates all image files played back when a button ‘ALL’ is clicked, FIG. 3(b) illustrates image files played back when an album “family” is clicked, and FIG. 3(c) illustrates image files played back when an album “background” is clicked.
Referring to FIGS. 3(a)-(c), there are four albums “family, “background”, “my picture”, and “secret”. Accordingly, referring to FIG. 1, an album folder includes a total of 4 PVM files.
Generally, when a user clicks an album (for example, the family album or the background album) and plays back an image file included in that album as shown in FIG. 3(b) or (c), the location information about the image file is searched for in the PVM file of that album. However, when the user desires to move an image file from one album to another album, many calculations must be performed in the system of the conventional digital image processing apparatus. Thus, a long processing time is required, because the system is restricted to opening only one PVM file at a time.
During the image file transfer, the PVM file of the album from which the image file is to be transferred is opened, an information part 210 for the corresponding image file is deleted from the open PVM file, and then the PVM file is closed. Thereafter, the PVM file of the album to which the image file is to be transferred is opened, the information part 210 for the corresponding image file is added to the opened PVM file, and the PVM file is then closed. Accordingly, the transfer of an image file between albums requires a long time because of frequent opening and closing of PVM files.
As shown in FIG. 3(a), when a user selects an album function ‘ALL’, all image files are displayed, including those represented by icons (e.g., ♥, ★, ●, ), which belong to one of the albums, and those not represented by any icon, which do not belong to any of the albums. For example, an image file (a-1) is represented by a family album icon ★, and an image file (a-2) is not represented by any icon. When an image file is represented by an icon, the conventional digital image processing apparatus parses the PVM file associated with the image file and represents the image file by an icon on the basis of the result of the parsing. However, in order to figure out which album the image file belongs to, all of the PVM files must be individually parsed, which is time-consuming. Also, all of the PVM files must be individually parsed to determine that the image file does not belong to any album. Therefore, it is time-consuming to assign icons to image files.
Moreover, during an album edit such as an addition of an image file to an album, a transfer of an image file between albums, or a deletion of an image file from an album, a PVM file stored in a memory card is downloaded to an internal memory (not shown) of the conventional digital image processing apparatus. This is also time-consuming. The album edit also requires a special operation of uploading a changed PVM file back to the memory card.